42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great for young readers - especially boys!, August 29, 2009
First let me say that I salute Patterson for reaching out to younger readers. As a homeschool parent, it is wonderful to find books that will inspire our kids to read - even if it is just "fun fiction."
This is the second book of the Daniel X series, and continues the story of a 15 year old with truly amazing powers. Not only can he transform himself, read minds, but he can literally change matter around him into anything he likes. He uses these remarkable powers to recreate his long lost friends and family, as well as battle the alien scourge out to destroy or enslave our planet.
The reading is at about a 5th-8th grade level, but my son who is in 3rd grade could read through it with little difficulty. In fact, he loved it! What's not to love... And it's all done with generally good-natured fare - nothing graphic or adult in any of it.
The Daniel X books are targeted for a slightly younger audience than the Maximum Ride books, and are probably better suited for boys. Similar to the Maximum Ride series, the book is broken up into very short chapters (many only 1-2 pages in length), making it perfect for a young reader. My kids are always telling, "Yeah Dad, I'll be there in a minute, just let me finish the chapter." *smile*
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dancing Just As Fast As We Can, August 6, 2009
I came to "Daniel X: Watch The Skies" a relative novice to the genre, or perhaps I should say genres as the story seems to be firmly in the realm of fantasy even as it employs the stuff of science fiction and super heroes. Having never read a James Patterson story before coming to Daniel X, I was more than a bit curious to open the cover of his latest effort in collaboration with Rust, especially since this book, although entertaining enough for a middle aged individual such as myself, is geared to a younger audience, which leads me to the first thing I would like to say about the book.
In the world of Daniel X, anything is possible, anything. So, for example, the fine imaginations of the writers give Daniel an index finger which functions as a gun barrel capable of shooting anything from a spit-wad to, well, anything. The finger is the least of it. Friends, family, an elephant, vehicles, bacon, all sorts of good stuff, so Daniel wills it, so it is done. Cool. And therein lies one of the nice things about this book, since anything is possible, the story can and does function on more than one level. Something for everybody then, and the story is, in some ways, the least of it, at least for older readers.
I was more taken with the writing than I was the story, which, predictable though it was, nevertheless was entertaining. The writing however, was, at times, very clever and very funny. The lists Daniel's imaginary mother creates to excuse his absence from school are but one example of how this story and the writing work on different levels for different readers. So, while having great fun with language, not only do the lists make us laugh, but they give us reason to pause and consider. Clearly, the authors have some feelings about the state of public education these days in these Uniteds: "...Stick this in your fascist helmet: We've looked over the terms of the No Child Left Behind Act and determined that if your school is doing the driving, we're okay with Daniel being left behind." Or, on the lighter side under yet dark clouds: "He's seeing Dr. Yvonne Yurmunni for interstellar impecuniosity," while "Dr. I. M. Trubbell is assessing the state of his bureaucratic mumbo jumbo allergy." Amusing,timely stuff written well.
I like the idea too, that the authors, through Daniel and his friends, flat out tell younger readers of this book, that reading and the search for knowledge are important, and so is effort. Friendship and the notion of caring for other living things, pets as well as people, are important too. These are fine ideas, and good then that they are expressed so bluntly in this book, even as older readers such as myself can taste the sting of rebuke for a world, at this point in time, which is, in no small part, of our own malodorous making.
Daniel X will give young readers thrills and chills even as it fills them with wonder. Older teenagers will begin to read between the lines and find some of the rich humor that runs throughout the story, even as they discover that Daniel speaks loudest for them, and never more loudly than when he is gently mocking the senior partners. As for older readers, well, I guess we're dancing just as fast as we can.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book, a big improvement on the decent but sloppy first one., July 31, 2009
It sucked me in the pages with just the first chapter. Very fun, though it's sort of predictable at parts.
The action is more spread throughout, Daniel is becoming more one-of-a-kind, since he was a lot like Percy Jackson in the first one.
As I said, predictable, but intriguing. It's not a book I would buy, but a book I would borrow from the library again and again.
I would give the first book a 6.7/10, but this an 8.5/10.
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